Reversible road sign or marker



" June 17, 1924. 11 197,958

R. H. SWIN FORD REVERSTBLE ROAD SIGN OR MARKER Filed Dec. 17 1923 w! Him 17' II III Patented June 17, 1924.

targets PATENT OFFICE".

RALPH n. 'swmronn, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,"

REVERSIBLE ROAD SIGN OR MAB-KER.

Application filedDecember 17, 1923. Serial miseries.

To all whom it may concern." y

Be it known that I, RALPH H.v SWINFORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements inReversible Road Signs or Markers, of which the following is a specification. This invention has reference to painted l0 road signs and markers, such as are commonly placed along roads and highways for purposes of advertising and, also, for indicating the'distance to a given town or city.

It is notalways possible nor, inmost inmarkerson'the same side of the road or highway. And, because of the fact that a sign painted to be put up on the left side of the road cannot very well be put up 011 the right, or viceversa',-it is a common prace tice to have one-half of the totalnumber of signs painted one my and the other half painted just theopposite. In other words, there must be painted both right and left hand signs, all pointing in the same direction, so that certain ofthe signs "are adapted to beset up onthe'right side of the road and certain others on the opposite side.

Consequently, the adaptability of a sign thus painted is governed and limited bythe manner in which it is painted and the fact that two different paintings, as it were, are required when preparing a group ofsigns or markers for a given road constitutes an matter of importance, particularly to the many and large commercial houses by which such signs andmarkers are employed in great numbers as an advertising medium.

t It is to eliminate theabove mentioned disadvantages and high cost attendant upon the preparation and use of present day road signs andmarkers that this invention is provided, and to this end it presents a reversible road sign of such construction and design as to, be capable, after being painted, of being used either as a left hand sign or as a right hand sign, Hence, when preparing a quantity of the signs, they may all be painted without regard to which side of the road they areintended to be placed on, since they are all equally adapted to either side. i

With the aboveand other objectsin view,

stances, desirable to locate these signs and item of cost, the elimination of which is a the invention consists in the novel features of construction and in the particular combination and arrangement of parts, herein- I after more fully set forth and described with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein: l 1 f Figure 1 IS a frontelevation of a'road sign or marker constructed and assembled I Figure at is a view showing a variation of the invention, and I Figures 5 and 6 are, respectively, detailed views of the reversible and non-reversible parts ofthe sign. v

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, l0 designates the main part of body of the sign upon which is adapted to be painted suitable advertising matter, such as indicated by way of example by the words Coops Shoes, (a fictitiousname as applied to shoes) and also mileage-speciwords 9 mi. to.- Part 10 may be constructed of wood or metal and is preferably in the form of a disk whiclris bolted or otherwise secured, as atll, to a post, tree, or other support 12 inany suitable manner. 'The method of fastening the disk will be such as to hold the disk stationary relative to the post. lhe movable or reversible part of the sign is ndicated at 13, and, as shown in FigureB, consists of a pointer having a spear-head 13 andfa shank l4,'the latter approximately corresponding in length to about half the diameter of the disk 10. Near its outer end, the shank 14c is provided with an opening 15' in which is accommothe position indicated in the full lines of Figure l, thej'sign is adapted for use on the right hand'side of the road and, hence, is

what is termed ajright handsign. "When the pointer is reversed so as to point from the opposite side of the disk, asindicatedby the dotted lines,- the sign is then" what is termed a left hand sign and is adapted to fying matter, such as represented by the be used tn the left hand side of the road. It will thus be seen that although the initial osition off the "pointer 13' with respect to the disk 10 determines whether the sign is a left or right hand sign, the fact that the pointer is reversible enables the sign to'be fasteners, su'chas bolts and nuts, em-

ployed in connection with openings 16 and 17 for securing. the pointer to the disk, the shank-of the bolt 18' extending through-the aligned opening and beingcen'gaged by nut 19, as shown in Figure;2j.- When it is necessary to change over from one side tothe other of the disk, the fasteners aresimply removed until the pointer has been reversed so that the opening in theshank registers with the other opening 16 of the disk, whereupon the fasteners are then replaced. H

Another. form of the invention is illustrated in Figures lto 6, inclusive, wherein the inventionis shown applied in a sign of the arrow type or style as contrasted with the round or disk sign previouslydescribed. In this variation, the main or body, part 20 has a relatively long narrow shank 20 which terminates at each end inan enlarged square portion 21. The shank 201, is adapted to be mounted on the poster other support 12 so as toextend horizontally with respect tojthe ground and it isseeured to'the support by a bolt or other element 22 passing" centrally of the shank. Printed matter for advertising and other purposes is painted upon one face of the shank and squared portion, The indicator of pointer 23 is incthe forinof a la'rgearrow and, like the pointer, 13 of the disk sign, is arranged rearwardly of the painted body portion of the sign, being fulcrumed for movement inthearc of a circle on the bolt 22. The shank of the arrow corresponds; in shape and size, substantially to the shank 20 ofthe' body portion2O but thehead- 24 and tail 25; ofthe arrow are longer thanthe squared portions 22 and are clearly visible fromj behind the latter, as

will be readily understood from Figure 4. Hence, it is quite easy to ascertain the direction for which the sign is pointedat any time, and by painting the body portion and the arrow in'contrasting colors, their visibility is greatly increased. The manner of securing the arrow to the body portion in either one of its two, indicating positions; is the same as previously described iniconnection with the diskillustrated in Figure 1;

the squared portions 21 of the arrow sign being each provided with an opening 26 and tliejhead and tail of the arrow being proyidedwith openings 27 and 28, respectively adapted to register with opening 26 at times Furthermore, the indicating' and reversible portion need be painted on one side only, therebyeliminating another' item of cost in themake-np of the sign. Other advantages of the invention resultfrom-the fact that it is; composed of only two mainiparts rather than a plurality and that there are no'detachableparts to become lost; H y Moreover, the marker. section because of the arrow head construetion can beseen' at a' greater distance. There being no cleats or sub-posts attached to or carried by the reversible road sign, the latter is more adapted to be attached toany post or tree at the appointed placeand in any event only a single post needbe installed to provide a mounting for the'sign, therebymaking it cheaperto manufacture, sell paintgandput up the sign, particularly in large quantities. VVhat is claimed, is: I I

1. A road sign or marker comprising a main sign-bearing part and a pointer arr'ang'edbehind the sign-bearing face, of the said main part and pivotally mounted for movement in the arc of a circle with an indicating portion thereof exposed from behind the'sign-bearing face of the said main part. V a p p 2. A road sign or: 'Inarker comprising a sign-bearing part and a pointer, the said sign-bearing part and the said pointer being pivoted together for relative moven'ient with the head of the pointer exposed beyond the sign-bearing part of pointing purposes, the said pointer being reversible to, point from either the right or left hand side of the said sign-bearing part. p A V I 3. A reversible road signor marker comprising a main'or sign-bearing part-presenting openings relatively disposed upon oppositesides of thecenter of the said main part, and a pointer moyable about a pivot atj the center of the said main part and presenting a single opening adapted upon movement of thepointer into pointing position at either side of the said sign-bearingpart to register with theop n ngv h tsi 9f he S main part, the said openings when in registry providing means through which a faspainted side thereof and movable to a point 10 tener may be introduced for holding the said from opposite sides of the said main part pointer stationary relative to the said main for adapting the latter for use either as a part. right or a left hand Sign, the said POiIlLGI i 5 4:. A reversible road sign and marker combeing visible from behind the painted side Erising a main sign-bearing part adapted to of the said main part. 15

e fastened to a support, said part being In testimony whereof I affix my signature. painted on one side only, and a pointing part pivoted to the said main part on the non- RALPH H. SWINFORD. 

